This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support is provided by the Nathan Cummings Foundation, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Art4Moore Foundation, and the Sewing Machine Project.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Let's Dance

Ausettua AmorAmenkum, Director of Kumbuka African Dance & Drum Collective, stopped by this past Friday to teach students a few dance moves. She helped them see the link between dances that are familiar to them as New Orleanians and African and Caribbean dances. Assettua also masks as a Mardi Gras Indian Queen.

Kumbuka African Drum & Dance Collective is dedicated to the preservation of African and African-American folklore through the medium of dance, music and song. Kumbuka consists of fifteen men, women, and children, ranging in ages from 9 to 55. This collection of artists are dancers, musicians, jewelers, drum makers, and costume designers. These artists have studied extensively in Senegal, Ghana, Guinea, New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago and St. Louis. Kumbuka's objectives whenever performing are to increase knowledge of African culture, demonstrate the significance that African culture has in elevating self-esteem, self-view, and self-knowledge of young persons, familiarize the audience with rhythms, music, and movement, and strengthen ability, stamina, flexibility, and agility. The repertoire consists of dances from Senegal, Guinea, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Congo, Kenya, South Africa, Haiti, and New Orleans.

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About Us

Launched in 2007 as an initiative of the Community Arts Program of the Department of Art at Xavier University of Louisiana. An eight-week full immersion experience for youth ages 11-14 in the Greater New Orleans area focused on Mardi Gras Indian art and culture. During hands-on sessions with the city's leading bearers of the Mardi Gras Indian tradition, students learn about Indian suit design and how to sew in both the "Uptown" and "Downtown" styles. Lectures, film and video screenings, and conversations with guest speakers round out the curriculum and help students understand the rich costume and parade traditions of Mardi Gras Indians, including Native American, African, and Caribbean influences.